'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQb/2gAIAQEAAAAAgi//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAECEAAAAD//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAF//xAAfEAACAgEEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwEEEQAFBhMSIoL/2gAIAQEAAT8A5myiLqJcfqwtHTY3AzvRDWTkpNY/A+mkWr9lK3wdUIaMH49GcZ1//8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEh/9oACAECAQE/AFD/xAAWEQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAiH/2gAIAQMBAT8Aen//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Spurs are looking to be a formidable foil to the Warriors’ supposed dominance of the league.With the calendar year winding down, it’s time to look back at what the biggest story lines of the early seaon have been. There are many juicy storylines that has once again made this NBA season compelling for all viewers.There are two perennial playoffs teams, the Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder, who both fired long time coaches and replaced them with college coaches, Fred Hoiberg and Billy Donovan respectively, and ar hoping the new blood can get them into the NBA Finals.So far the experiment has had mixed results, with the Bulls definitely looking like a second tier playoff team while Thunder are hoping to find the right mix of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s takeover, motion offense, and tight defense to be a part of the title contender talk.You have two small forwards, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, seemingly making the leap to superstars, playing outstanding two-way basketball and making the small forward the best position of elite talent along with Kevin Durant and LeBron James.And of course, you have Stephen Curry, who is capturing the nation’s attention even more than last year with his dazzling shooting and Kristaps Porzingas, who has proven to be a gigantic sensation in New York, taking the city by storm by way of putback dunks, blocks, and rebounds.
#5 Philadelphia 76ers
Everyone who watches the NBA has an opinion on the 76ers and GM Sam Hinkie’s grand plan of tanking. And not just tanking, but tanking shame and complete disregard if the team on the court truly fits together. They currently sit at 1-28, losing games at close to record pace as they are defeated by bigger and bigger margins with each passing game.
They can’t score, mainly because they do not have any NBA ball handlers on their team, and their defense has regressed after being close to a league average outfit over the last two years.
They recently hired NBA lifer Jerry Colangelo to potenially serve as a boss to Hinkie and potentially get the team on a faster track to winning. They have also brought on board Mike D’Antoni to be their offensive coordinator of sorts, bringing in two big NBA names to fix a situation that is now in year three of massive losing.
It is said that other owners are not happy with how the 76ers have gone about on a streak of losses, and commissioner Adam Silver has gone on record saying he doesn’t love the plan the Sixers have in place, but that he will ‘not interfere.’
Will Hinkie fold and succumb to the pressure of tanking a more traditional way? Will the NBA eventually shake up the lottery to prevent future teams of tanking like the 76ers? Will the NBA lifers help start to pull the team from the basement or will they try and make the move to fast and continue losing? It is all a fascinating storyline, both this year and beyond.
#4 Kobe retires
When Kobe announced his retirement on November 30th, you knew this would instantly be a dominating storyline for the rest of the season. There would be endless lasts to commemorate, fans that once booed him would now shower him with praise, many road Laker games would turn into home games if the Lakers and Kobe got any momentum late, with the many fans that come to watch Kobe cheering boisterously.
Kobe will go down as the second best shooting guard of all time, and everyone was going to want to see him one last time.
It doesn’t matter that the Lakers have not had any form of late.. well, it does, but not to the point where people would not want to go and watch Kobe play.
Although Bryant has been playing badly himself of late, fans just want to see if that night will be the night Kobe back into his old magic and hits a dagger to win the game. He has played better of late, hitting above 50% shooting in three of his last six games and giving fans more reason to cheer.
It will be interstesting to see if he gets voted into the All Star game as a starter, in a tip of the hat to an all-time great, or if the commissioner will make an exemption and add him to the team.
#3 Is the East back?
The Eastern Conference has for the longest time been the ‘baby sibling’ of the league, perpetually putting sub .500 teams into the playoffs while the West had seasons where all the playoff participants won 50 games.
In addition, they usually had the worst of the worst teams as well, meaning they pick atop the draft year after year. But now it seems like the East has teams that can stack up with the West, at least in the middle of each conference.
As it stands now, the East has 10 teams currently above .500 and are more or less even when they play the West, sporting a 79-80 record against them.
The Eastern Conference has definitely improved, due in no small part to some very good coaches, but this truly seems like they have the Cavaliers and then a bunch of teams that aren’t quite good enough to make it to the finals.
#2 Houston Rockets
Just last year the Houston Rockers were a Western Conference finalist and chic pick for the the Championship this season. James Harden was a stud last year, a bona fide top five player and the Rockets were only going to get healthier. They brought in Ty Lawson, and many thought he would super charge this team along with a healthy Dwight Howard and push the Rockets to 60 wins.
Instead, the Rockets have already fired head coach Kevin McHale, and are finally back to .500 but are looking to get to 6th spot in the playoffs so they can avoid first round death at the hands of the Spurs or Warriors.
James Harden is scoring a lot of points still but his shooting percentages have been subpar. Ty Lawson has failed to mesh with the starting lineup and has been moved to the bench where he is finally finding his game.
Dwight Howard just started playing back to backs, but he has been slowing due to injury and age and can no longer bring it at his superstar level every night. Corey Brewer can barely shoot, Donatas Motiejunas is just back from injury, and the Rockets still have a propensity to walk through games.
It will be intersting to watch how the Rockets continue until the All Star break. They can climb all the way to 5th in the West, simply by virtue of the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies being slightly above average. However, it still remains to be seen if they can regain their form from last year and be true Western contenders..
#1 Golden State Warriors
They deserve top spot on this list for many reasons.
The Warriors set the record for most wins to start a season (24), have the MVP and nearly every fan’s favourite player (Stephen Curry), play an exciting brand of basketball with hyperactive defense and enough threes for everyone to enjoy, and are on pace to break the record for most wins in a season (72).
The team play with absolute joy, whipping the ball around the court, smiling, high fiving, and celebrating at every turn that they have been able to suck in all the casual fans who love to watch the fun team of the season.
They also have been even more talkative this season, responding to anyone who questions their title last season, makes disapproving comments about how they carry themselves, and proclaiming loudly that they are the best team in the league.
So if you are fan of a contender, it is easy to quickly start disliking the brash bully who lets you konw they are here to win again. By appealing as both the fan favorite and the villian, the Warriors check all the fan boxes.
Currently, they also play the best basketball in the league. They lead the league in scoring differential, net efficiency rating and offensive efficiency, while playing top five defense and routinely unleash scoring and defensive runs the like that only a few teams can hope to match. They have a shot-to-set the record for wins in a season and that will keep everyone interested throughout.
All hail the Warriors.
